The Black Keys Fan Lounge Forum

I am not a fan of hip-hop, but I trust the Keys' artistic vision. I admit that I enjoyed Blakroc over other rap records because I have a strong bias towards Dan and Pat's output. For me, the webisodes on the official site did a great job building anticipation for the record. It's just that I love to see and hear the Keys in action, whatever they may be doing. I knew that a new record would entail more opportunities to hear interviews with them, see them live on tv, and perhaps new ways to see them live in concert. Overall, I support the project because it amplifies the Black Keys influence on today's music and culture. The Camero thing is ridiculous, I think most of us can agree on that. But Damon Dash was the executive producer and I don't think Dan and Pat could have done anything to sway him on that. Knowing the Keys, I'm surprised they didn't come out with a Blakroc burger.

Don't get me wrong, I love Cameros. I'd buy one if I could afford one. Hell I'd even buy a black one. But I won't buy some gimmicky bullshit Blakroc Camero. Can you imagine what kind of tool would drive that thing around town? "Bro, I got the Blakroc Camero bro! I'm like, an official member of the band now I think, oh Bro it's so sick bro..."

What they should do, is load up that Blakroc Camero with copies of the album and drive around the country handing them out for free. You know, like those companies do with Energy Drinks and Vitamin Waters and whatnot.

You can tell from the webisodes and interviews that Dash was all on some "sell the shit out of it" shit. And Dan was trying to be nice about it, but was also sorta like "ok Dash, just slow your roll a bit there". Total conflict of interest, and TBK handled it as best they could.

That's just what happens when you take the humble Black Keys and the beautiful music they make, and mash it up with the whole commercial rap scene which is primarily about making money and having things and who can talk the loudest. It's cheesy, it's corny, and it just ain't right. If they would have involved other hiphop artists who share that humble and positive attitude, and aren't all about labels and bling, the concept/project would have turned out a lot better (more to my liking). Just my opinion, what do I know?

Behind the scenes on the Jimmy Fallon show

Behind the scenes on Letterman

Overall, I like the album but I agree that bringing in some more "indie" MCs would yield something much greater. I am a fan of hip-hop, and there are a lot of great artists out there that are making good music that actually has something to say and it worth listening to, even though some of the MCs that are on Blakroc I wouldn't classify as being in that category. I do enjoy the album, partially because I find anything that Dan and Pat do interesting and worthwhile, but also because I like hip-hop that's played with live backing music. I would be super-psyched if they were to bring in people like P.O.S., Brother Ali, Slug (from Atmosphere), Aesop Rock, Murs, MF Doom, or any number of other artists who are pushing hip-hop into more intelligent and artistic places. I did like the tracks with RZA, Raekwon and Mos Def a lot, and I thought Nikki Wray added some good things.

As far as the Camaro goes, I agree that it is beyond lame. That being said, that stinks of Dame's influence and I doubt that Dan or Pat had anything or wanted anything to do with that portion of it. I do like the fact that TBK are not doing the projects that they want to do and not worrying about what conventional wisdom says is a good idea. If they're passionate about a project and willing to put their all into it, I can't see anything really terrible coming out of it. Dan and Pat have always gone their own way and shown their integrity, and I expect that they will continue to do and earn the respect of all of us out there who value those qualities.

What I'm really looking forward to is the new Keys album this spring. I can't wait to hear where they've gone with it, and based on the Mark Neil interview, it sounds like somewhere very good...

I'm with you guys on the posts above. Other than Raekwon, Noe and Mos, I thought the rapping was par, at best. It takes Jim Jones about three lines to mention a "V", then explain it on his other track that it is a "Ferrari V." Why not say "Mouth To SOUTH" so you aren't rhyming "Mouth" with "MOUTH?" Or leave that out completely because it isn't appropriate for this project.

There's something else I want to mention, to see if you guys feel the same: Are you guys still listening to Blakroc on the regular? I'm not. Not that it isn't really really good, but...

When I got the album, I had heard almost all of the tracks on the videos already. I think the videos were really great, but it is interesting what they did to me as a listener. I usually listen to albums from start to finish, but there are always songs that I gravitate towards. These are usually the singles: they have something catchy, familiar that draws you to them, or they are just badass, of course. Then everything else sort of centers around that until you get used to the rest of the album. The videos completely negated that. It doesn't change how I feel about the album, it's just interesting.

I wonder what it would've been like if they had released the videos AFTER?

Just can't be satisfied, I guess.

oh my goodness i love it like this!

More instrumentals...

'Coochie'

'On The Vista'

'Hard Times'